It feels really good to perform on a big occasion: Washington Sundar

Getting the better of Mumbai Indians (MI) in their fortress has never been an easy task for visiting teams over the years. Several teams have tried to do so but have fallen short on many instances. However, it hasn’t quite been the case with the franchise from Pune, who have now defeated MI twice in IPL 2017. On Tuesday (May 16) Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) took on the mighty men in blue for the third time in IPL 10 only to a register yet another victory against the table-toppers.

Riding on the cameo from their former skipper MS Dhoni and a brilliant performance by their bowling attack, led by the young Washington Sundar, RPS thrashed MI by 20 runs in the Qualifier 1. This was RPS’ third straight win against MI this season. They are now the first of the two finalists of IPL 2017. On the other hand, MI will travel to Bengaluru to face the winner of KKR vs SRH in Qualifier 2.

When it was discovered that R Ashwin will not be able to participate in IPL 10 after falling victim to a sports hernia, the RPS’ think tank was left wondering who could replace him. However, little did they know that a 17-year-old teen from Chennai, named Washington Sundar, would replace the Indian off-spinner with the same intensity. Throughout the tenth edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League, Sundar has been brilliantly performing the difficult job of bowling in the powerplays.

Yet again in the all-important Qualifier 1, Sundar was bang on the money as he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard. By getting these three the youngster disrupted the backbone of MI’s middle-order. He ended up with the figures of 3 for 16 from his quota four overs.

Sundar’s view on his performance:

“It feels really good, especially to have taken key members of their side on such a big occasion in front of a packed crowd,” Washington Sundar said in an interaction with iplt20.com after the game. “I think Smith has been really supportive and I would like to thank him for it. Him giving me an opportunity to play ten games in my first edition for an off-spinner, I don’t think any other team would have been willing to do that. I would like to thank him a lot.”

Pune’s skipper Steve Smith has entrusted Sundar throughout the season by handing over the ball to him in the powerplays and the teenager has equally justified his captain’s faith. He has varied his pace quite well and kept bowling a disciplined line which has helped RPS keep things tight from one end. Sundar has 8 wickets to his name from 10 games but most importantly he has bowled at an economy rate of just 6.61 which has provided the much-needed support to RPS’ pacers.

“I love the challenge of bowling in the powerplay, having only two fielders outside the circle,” Sundar said. “I have been believing in my strengths and hopefully I will be doing the same thing in Hyderabad and we will be able to lift the trophy together.

“I am very proud to have big names in my pocket tonight. To have those three, especially in a game like Qualifier 1 is a proud moment for me. It was a very heartening performance, added Sundar.”

Skipper Smith too was extremely happy with Sundar’s contribution and said, “What an unbelievable performance by a young 17-year-old on the big stage. “I throw him the ball in the first six overs when the batsmen are going after him and he takes three.

“I am proud of Sundar and it was great watching him bowl so well. Hopefully, we can see one more big game in the final and lift that trophy.”

The finals of IPL 2017 will be played on May 21 (Sunday) in Hyderabad.